In simpler times, players played the pickups that came in their guitars and that
was the end of it. Hispanic women wound coils in Fullerton, Latvian women
wound 'em in Kalamazoo, and less celebrated workers of undetermined origin did
the same at DeArmond (Rowe Industries) in Toledo, Ohio. Whatever you got was
more than good enoughit was all there was.

Until fairly recently, Jason Lollar's pickups were a well-kept secret amongst the more choosy of American guitarists. You can't keep these things quiet forever, though, and now, after a long wait, Lollar pickups are now available in the UKso we've got the chance to find out what all the fuss is all about.

Fretboard Journal
"The Pickup Artist: The Long and Winding Road of Jason Lollar"
Winter 2005 Issue

There isn't a whole lot of fame in pickup winding. Build a good dreadnought, and folks will borrow it for recording sessions. Take the hum out of a Fender Champ, and everyone will ask you to work on theirs. But wind a pickup on your own and you'll get a shocked look or two, perhaps a curious inquiry from a friend and, if you're lucky, maybe an oddball's order. Unless you're Jason Lollar, that is.

Jason Lollar is widely considered the Moses of pickup winding. His book Basic Pickup Winding and Complete Guide to Making Your Own Pickup Winder, set off the industry's aftermarket pilgrimage to achieving better tone through better pickups. Lollar's constant goal is to wind pickups that have both character and clarity. Small wonder he is called upon to build pickups for tone gurus like Billy Gibbons, Robert Randolph and Peter Stroud.

As a builder, Lollar specializes in pickups for steel guitars, but the variety of choices in his pickup line is impressive. We recently gathered up a few sets for a listen, to give you, faithful reader, an inside look at this new kid on the bl... bobbin! Always conscious of our audience, we opted for sets that vintage guys most often chase when buying replacement pickups. Much like his book, Lollar's pickups are monikered such that you know what to expect. Our testers were sets dubbed Vintage Telecaster, P-90 Soap Bar Style, and the Imperial PAF humbucker.

Given Phil Brown's huge and funky tone, we couldn't pick a more suitable issue in which to unveil Jason Lollar's "Special" Stratocaster pickups, and they are special indeed. How many different recipes can there be for Stratocaster pickups? Like recipes for gumbo, Italian red sauce, fine wine and small batch bourbon, it seems as if the possibilities are limited only by the creative vision of their makers.

We found Jason Lollar by way of our good friend Peter Stroud, who was introduced to Jason by Pete Droge. Jason lives on an island near Seattle, where he builds exceptional guitars that are clearly unique among the more derivative small-production instruments that seem so common today. He also designs and personally winds some of the most magical pickups we have ever heard.

For more than three decades, Jason Lollar has designed and built some of the most sought-after pickups for electric guitar, bass, and steel guitar. If you're on a quest for tone, we can help. We personally build more than fifty different models of pickups for a variety of instruments. Call us today and let us help you find the best guitar pickups for you.